Marvel's Thor has sex change

He is famed as the God of
Thunder, but Thor is to change sex, launching an "all-new era" for the
comic-book icon, its publishers said on Tuesday.

Marvel Comics will introduce the female Thor in its latest comic
series in October, it announced, stressing that the new Thor is not
She-Thor or Thorita.

It was not immediately clear if the sex change will be taken to the
movies, where the franchise has been a huge box-office hit in recent
years.

Marvel said the female Thor is an effort to attract new readers and
to appeal to women and girls, whom it said have long been ignored in
comics.

It will be the biggest change to its three largest comic characters - Captain America, Iron Man and Thor - according to Marvel.

"The inscription on Thor's hammer reads 'Whosoever holds this
hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor'," said Marvel
editor Wil Moss. "It's time to update that inscription."

He added: "The new Thor continues Marvel's proud tradition of strong
female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And
this new Thor isn't a temporary female substitute - she's now the one
and only Thor, and she is worthy."

Series writer Jason Aaron added: "This is not She-Thor. This is not
Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is Thor. This is the Thor of the
Marvel Universe. But it's unlike any Thor we've ever seen before."

Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of the show The View on Disney's ABC
network, told TV audiences today the fictional Norse superhero will be
a woman. Images on the Marvel website show a female with iron armour
and a cape.

Marvel and comic-book producer DC Entertainment of Time Warner are
increasingly targeting female characters to broaden the appeal of the
male-centric superhero genre to include more women and girls. Thor will
be the eighth Marvel comic-book title to feature a female lead.

The change of gender is not unprecedented for Marvel, which was
bought by entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company in 2009. Captain
Marvel used to be male, but is now female, a spokesman said.

On the big screen, Thor has been portrayed by Australian actor Chris
Hemsworth in two Thor films (2011, 2013) as well as 2012's
record-breaking The Avengers. He will reprise the role in Avengers: Age
Of Ultron, due out next year. It is unclear whether the actor will have
to hang up his hammer, to be replaced by a woman.

"This is a publishing-only initiative," Marvel Entertainment
spokesman Joe Taraborrelli told Agence France-Presse. Disney spokesman
Megan Wasserman added: "The announcement... was about the comics, and
as normal Marvel policy, we cannot (comment) on film activities,
rumours or related speculation."

On Twitter, some welcomed the news but others - including women -
expressed their horror. "What genius writer decided on this? Will u
also change Norse lore," wrote a male fan.

"I'm all for feminism but a FEMALE #Thor ... HECK NO, it doesn't even make sense" was a fangirl's opinion.

Even The Avengers director Joss Whedon chimed in, writing: "A female Thor? What the hell makes them think that would be cool?"